Photographic print handling apparatus



Sept. 1932- J. 5. GREENE 1,877,659

PHOTOGRAPHIC PRINT HANDLING APPARATUS Filed June 4, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet l IS AT ORNEY Sept. 13, 1932. J. s. GREENE I PHOTOGRAPHIC PRINT HANDLING'APPARATUS Filed June 4, 1931 2 Sheets-She 11v VENTOR (70 271, 5. $66M %ZI A TT( RNE Y Patented Sept. 13, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE JOHN S. GREENE, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, ASSIGN OR TO PHOTOSTAT CORPORATION, OF PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND, A CORPORATION OF RHODE ISLAND PHOTOGRAIYHIC PRINT HANDLING APPARATUS Application filed June 4,

This invention relates to photographic print handling apparatus and particularly to apparatus especially designed for use in connection with so-called commercial cam- 5 eras, in which exposures of light rays from documentsto be copied are made directly on sensitized sheet material such as paper. An object of the present invention is to provide improved handling mechanism of simple and convenient form for carrying exposed prints successively through the required treating baths, such as developing, fixing, and Washing baths.

Another object of the invention is the provision of generally improved conveying mechanism for photographic prints which is more satisfactory than previous mechanisms, which does not require wastage of a margin of each print but permits the entire, area of a print to be used, and which does not pierce or otherwise injure or mutilate a print.

A further object is the provision of a generally improved and more satisfactory mechanism for stripping the print from the conveying mechanism at the required point, which strippingmechanism will not tear or otherwise injure the print, but which will, on the contrary, tend to smooth and iron out the print into flat form.

- To these and other ends the invention resides in certain improvements and combinations of parts, all as will be hereinafter more fully described, the novel features being pointed out in the claims at the end of the specification.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic verticalxsection taken longitudinally and substantially centrally through a commercial camera embodying a preferred form of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan of a part of the conveying mechanism;

Fig. 3 is a section taken substantially on the line 33 of Fig. 2 with the print carry- 111; bar turned 90 from the position shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic view of the stripping mechanism in one position, and

Fig. 5 is a similar view of the mechanism 1931. Serial No. 542,141.

shifted to another position. to strip a print from the conveying mechanism.

Similar reference numerals throughout the several views indicate the same parts.

Referring now to F ig. 1, there is illustrated diagrammatically a commercial camera which may be, in general, of any suitable known construction. For example, light rays from documents placed upon a vertically adjustable copyholder 11 may pass upwardly to the prism or other suitable reflecting element 12 and be reflectedrearwardlythereby through a lens 13 so that thelight falls upon a sheet 14 of sensitized material in the focal plane of the camera. This sheet may be sensitized only upon its front or upon both sides if desired, suitable mechanism of known form being provided in case the material is sensitized on both sides, so that thetwo sides are succesively presented for exposure.

The sensitized material 14.- niay be conveniently supplied from a supply roll 15 and drawn thence over guide rolls 16 to feeding rolls 17. After an exposure has been made, feeding rolls 17 may berotated to carry the exposed portion of the sensitized material downwardly until it is below the feeding rolls 17 to deliver it to suitable holding means, and this exposed portion may then be severed from the remainderzof the strip orweb by operation of suitable severing mechanism such as the knife 18. When the print is thus severed it may drop tothe bottom of the holding means which in the present instance comprises a pocket or chute 19.

According to the present invention, a new and improved form of conveying mechanism is provided for picking up the exposed print from the holding means 19 and carrying it through the various desired print treating baths in the containers 20 to 27 inclusive. These containers may hold any suitable developing, fixing, washing, intensifying or other treating liquids.

The conveying mechanism in the present preferred embodiment of the invention comprises a pair of endless members preferably in the form of chains 30, arranged to' run along predetermined paths at opposite sides of the machine, and a series of cross bars 31 extending transversely across the machine from one of the chains to the other and carried by the chains so that the cross bars move forwardly when the chains are driven by any suitable mechanism including, for example, the rollers or sprockets 32 over which the chains are guided, some or all of which rollers or sprockets may be connected to a motor or other suitable source of power to be driven either continuously or intermittently as desired.

The cross bars 31 above mentioned form print carrying members around an edge of which a print is adapted to be folded or wrapped. Preferably one edge of each bar 31 is smooth and rounded as indicated at 35, so that it will not cut or mar the print when folded around this edge, and the edge 35 may e, for convenience, termed the forward edge of the bar. The bar 31 near its opposite or rear edge is preferably tapered as indicated at 36 to a relatively thin rear edge 37, so that when a print is folded around the front edge it may lie in contact or substantially in contact with the sides of the bar 31 and the two superimposed surfaces of the print will come into contact with each other immediately behind the bar and will adhere to each other when they have been wetted in the first one of the print treating baths.

Preferably bars 31 are not mounted in stationary position in the chains 30, but are each pivoted for oscillation about an axis extending longitudinally of the bar. For example, each end of each bar 31 may have a. lug or trunnion 38 thereon, which extends rotatably into a socket 39 mounted on one of the chains 30. These lugs 38 are preferably placed somewhat rearwardly from the front edge 35 of each bar 31, but are nevertheless closer to the front edge than the rear edge so that the rear edge of the bar will normally tend to hang downwardly by gravity, as illustrated in Fig. 3.

The path of travel of the chains 30, which of course determines the path of travel of the bars 31 mounted on these chains, is so arranged that during the travel of the chains the bars pass through a slot or opening 40 in the holding means or chute 19 at a point somewhat above the bottom of the chute. Thick members 41 with rounded edges are placed above and below the slot 40 on the forward wall of the chute 19 to guide the print as itis drawn out of the chute by the bar 31 and to fold it firmly over this bar.

hen the conveyor chains 30 are driven in the direction of the arrow 42, the cross bars 31 approach the chute 19 from the rear, and normally tend to hang with their thin edges 37 downwardly as illustrated in Fig. 3. A guide or extension 13 on the rear wall of the chute contacts with the depending edge of each bar 31 and turns the bar in a clockwise direction through approximately a quarter of a revolution, as will be clearly apparent from an inspection of Fig. 1, so that the rounded edge 35 of the bar is forwardly and the thin edge 3? rearwardly.

lVhen the bar is in this position, it comes into contact with the rear edge of a severed print 14: held in the chute 19, somewhat above the bottom edge of this print. and causes the print to fold itself around the edge 35 and to be carried by the bar out through the opening 40. The print is thus drawn out of the chute and carried downwardly into the first bath within the container 20, and as soon as the print gets wet the overlapping portions thereof which are in contact with each other adhere to each other in a manner well understood by those familiar with the behavior of wet sheets of paper and the like. Further movement of the conveyor chains 30 and the cross bar 31 around which the print is folded will carry he print successively through the other baths so that it is developed, fixed, washed, or otherwise treated.

T he point which the carrying bar comes into contact fith the print is spaced sufficiently far from an edge of the print so that when the print becomes folded over the bar, the two ends or surfaces thus formed will overlie or be superimposed on each other throughout a suflicient area to provide the necessary adhesion to hold the print on the bar while it passing through the various baths. It is found in practice that a foldover of as little as two inches or thereabouts can frequently be employed successfully, though it is ordinarily desired to make it somewhat greater than this.

It is to be noted that if the sensitized material is sensitized only on one side, this will be the forward side of the material when it is placed in the chute 19. and as the bar 31 comes in contact with the material from the rear, it will be the plain or unsensitized side of the print which is in contact with the bar 31 while the sensitized or emulsion side will be the outer side when folded around the bar. Thus the contact of the bar with one side of the print will not scratch or otherwise injure the emulsion and will not prevent ready access of the treating liquids to the emulsion.

Also it should be noted that, as the print is simply folded around a smooth bar and is not pierced by impaling pins or the like, no part of the print is injured in any way, and as far as the conveying mechanism is concerned, no margin or waste edge is needed. The entire area of the print, right up to all of the edges thereof, can be used for the exposure if desired.

After the print has been carried through the various baths either continuously or in termittently, it may be stripped from the conveying mechanism and delivered in any suitable manner, as for example by being placed upon the receiving belt of a photographic print drier. Str1pping mechanism for accomplishing this is best illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5 of the drawings, which will now be referred to.

As the chains 30 pass upwardly from the last bath container 27, they continue upwardly for some distance and are then led rearwardly over a series of guide rollers 50, thence extending obliquely downwardly to a guide roller 51, doubling back around this roller and passing upwardly and rearwardly to a guide roller 52, from which they extend forwardly again so that. the bar may pick up another print from the chute 19.

A surface is provided adj acent the path of travel of the conveying mechanism and means is provided for bringing the print into contact with this surface so that as the conveying mechanism continues to move ahead, a drag is created on the print which will strip it from the bar 31 around which it is wrapped. Preferably, but not necessarily, the surface in contact with which the print is held is a surface which moves in a direction counter to the movement of the conveying mechanism at the time the print is stripped. For example, according to the present preferred embodiment of the invention, this surface above mentioned comprises a belt 55 which may be the receiving belt of aphotographic print drier and which is driven in the direction of the arrow 56 by suitable driving means such as the pulley 57 to whichpower may be applied. Beneath the top reach of the belt 55 at a point at which a print is brought into contact with the belt, is a backing plate 58 over which the belt slides, which backing plate resists the downward pressure of the stripping mechanism.

The stripping mechanism may comprise a frame 60 pivotally mounted on the same shaft 61 on which the roller 51 is mounted, and exten ding upwardly and thence leftwardly when viewed as in Figs. 4 and 5, carrying a roller 62 at the end of the leftward extension. A latch 63 normally holds this frame in the upright position illustrated in Fig. 4, but the latch may be released by means of a linkage 64 connected to one end of a lever 65 the opposite end of which is in the path of travel of the bar 31 near one end thereof. 7

As the bar 31 passes downwardly from the roller 50 to the roller 51, with the print 66 trailing behind it as shown in Fig. 4, the bar will hit the lever 65, release the latch 63, and permit the frame 60 to fall leftwardly or oscillate in a counter-clockwise direction about its pivot 61. The roller 62 on the frame will thus come in contact with the print 66 and, assisted by fingers 67 on the frame, will carry the rear end of this print rearwardly and downwardly into contact with the top of the belt 55 ust above the backing plate 58. This position of the parts is illustrated in Fig. 5

of the drawings.

The weight of the frame 60 and associated parts is suflicient so that the friction between the print 66 and the belt 55 is great enough to overcome the tenacity with which the print clings to the bar 31. Thus, while the friction between the print and the belt tends to move the printin one direction or leftwardly when viewed as in Fig. 5, and while the bar 31 continues its oblique downward and rightward movement, the formermovement overcomes the latter and the print is stripped from the bar, the bar meanwhile oscillating approximately half a revolution in a counter-clockwise direction on its trunnions 38 as the print unwinds from it. This makes the stripping of the print considerably easier than would be the case if the bar were not capable of oscillation, in which case the print would have to be forcibly dragged around the bar, with consequent danger of damage, instead of bein unwound from the bar as it turns.

When the print has thus been stripped from tho'bar, it is carried leftwardly by the belt 55 and delivered in any suitable way, such as to the drum of a photographic print drier. The movement of the belt 55 will draw the print along under the roller 62, the weight of which on top of the print will serve to smooth the print out and iron it down onto the belt so Ehat when it is dry it will be smooth and The bar 31, with the print now stripped therefrom, continues its downwardly movement and thence passes around the roller 51 and starts upwardly again, and comes into contact with one end of the pivoted lever 70 which is connected by a link 71 to an arm 72 on the frame 60, and moves this lever 70 upwardly to restore the frame 60 to its initial position shown in Fig. 4, in which it is again caught by the latch 63.

A dashpot 73 may be connected by alink 74 to the arm 72 of the frame 60, which dashpot will control the downward and leftward movement of the frame when the latch 63 is released so that this movement will not be sudden or violent but will be smooth although relatively rapid.

If desired, a squeegee roller 75 F igs.4 and 5) maybe placed over one of the guide rollers 50 and may be mounted in vertical slots 76, so that the weight of the roller 75 will press the print between it and the adjacent roller 50 to squeeze excess liquid from the print after it emerges from the last bath. This will also serve to smooth or iron out the print to some extent.

While one embodiment ofthe invention has been disclosed, it is to be understood that the inventive idea may be carried out in a number of ways. This application is therefore not to be limited to the precise details described, but is intended to cover all variations and modi- LTD fications thereof falling within the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. Photographic apparatus comprising conveying means including a movable bar having a smooth edge, means for holding a photographic print in a position extending across the path of movement of said bar, and mechanism for driving said conveying means to move said bar toward and past said print so that a portion of said print becomes wrapped around said smooth edge.

2. Photographic apparatus comprising print holding means, a print container, movable conveying means including a bar having a smooth edge and having a path of travel extending transverscl across a print held in said holding means inwardly of an edge of such print and extending also into said container, and mechanism for lriving said conveying means to more id bar along said path of travel toward and past said print and into container that portion of said print becomes wrapped around the smooth edge of he ar and the print is thereby carried to said container.

3. Photographic apparatus comprising a pair of endless conveying memb s, and a. print carrier extending transversely between said members and connected thereto, said carrier having a. smooth rounded print-engaging edge over which a prin may be folded.

Photographic apparatus comprising a pair of endless conveying members, and a print car 'ier cxtendin g transversely between said members and being pivotally connected thereto so that aid carrier may oscillate freely relative to said conve ing members about an axis extending transversely to the members.

5. Photographic apparatus comprising a pair of endless conveying members, and a print carrier extending transversely between said members and being pivotally connected thereto so that said carrier may oscillate freely relative to said conveying members about an axis extending transversely to the members, said carrier having a smooth rounded print-engaging edge over which a print may be folded.

6. Photographic apparatus comprising a pair of endless conveying members, and aprint carrier extending transversely between said members and connected thereto, said carrier having a relatively thick edge around which a print may be folded, and being tapered to a relatively thin edge opposite said thick edge.

7. Photographic apparatus comprising a pair of endless conveying members, a print carrier extending transversely between said members, said carrier having an edge around which a print may be folded, and pivotal means connecting said carrier to said conveying members for oscillation about an axis substantially parallel to said edge.

8. Photographic apparatus comprising a pair of endless conveying members, a print carrier extending transversely between said members, said carrier having an edge around which a print may be folded, pivotal means connecting said carrier to said conveying members so that said carrier may oscillate about an axis substantially parallel to said edge, means for holding a print in position to be picked up by said carrier, mechanism for driving said conveying members to move said carrier toward the print to be picked up, and means for oscillating said carrier to a predetermined position as it approaches the print to be picked up. i

9. Photographic apparatus comprising a pair of endless conveying members, a print carrier extending transversely between said members, said carrier having a rounded edge and another relatively thin edge, pivotal means connecting said carrier to said conveying members so that said carrier may oscillate about an axis substantially parallel to said rounded edge, means for holding a print in a position extending across the path of travel of said carrier, and means for positioning the rounded edge of said carrier forwardly and the relatively thin edge rearwardly as it approaches said print.

10. Photographic printhandling apparatus comprising conveying means including a print holding member to which a print is adapted to be attached, mechanism for driving said conveying means to move said member through a predetermined path of travel, and means effective to resist continued movement of a print with said member at a predetermined point in said path of travel, to tend to remove such print from said member.

11. Photographic print handling apparratus comprising conveying means including a print holding member to which a print is adapted to be attached, mechanism for driving said conveying means to move said member through a predetermined path of travel, a surface adjacent said path of travel, and means effective to hold a print carried by said member in contact with said surface to tend to strip such print from said member.

12. Photographic print handling apparatus comprising conveying means including aprint holding member to which a print is adapted to be attached, mechanism for driving said conveying means to move said member through a predetermined path of travel, a belt adjacent said path of travel and moving in a direction counter to the movement of said member, and means for holding a print carried by said member in contact with said belt to tend to strip such print from said member.

13. Photographic print handling apparatus comprising conveying means including iao a. print holding member to which a print is adapted to be attached, mechanism for driving said conveying means to move said member through a predetermined path of. travel, a surface adjacent said path of travel, and means for displacing a, print into contact with said surface to tend to strip such print from said member.

14:. Photographic print handling apparatus comprising conveying means including a print holding member to which a print is adapted to be attached, mechanism for driving said conveying means to move said member through a predetermined ath of travel, a belt adjacent said path 0 travel and moving in a direction counter to the movement of said member, and means for displacing a print into contact with said belt and for temporarily holding it in contact therewith to tend to strip such print from said member. a

15. Photographic print handling apparatus comprising conveying means including a print holding member to which a print is adapted to be attached, mechanism for driving said conveying means to move said member through a predetermined path of travel, a belt adjacent said path of travel and moving in a direction counter to the movement of said member, and roller means contacting with one side of a print attached to said member for displacing said print into contact with said belt and for temporarily holding the opposite side of the print in contact therewith to tend to strip said print from said member.

16. Photographic print handling apparatus comprising conveying means including a print holding member to which a print is adapted to be attached, mechanism for driving said conveying means to move said member through a predetermined path of travel, a surface adjacent said path of travel on one side thereof, pivoted means having a portion adjacent said path of travel on the opposite side thereof, and mechanism automatically effective when said member reaches a predetermined point in said path of travel to cause said pivoted means to displace a print attached to said member into contact with said surface. a a

17. Photographic print handling apparatus comprising conveying means including a print holding member to which a print is adapted to be attached, mechanism for driving said conveying means to move said member through a predetermined path of travel, a surface adjacent said path of travel on one side thereof, pivoted means having a portion adjacent said path of travel on the opposite side thereof, and mechanism automatically effective when said member reaches a predetermined point in said path of travel to 'cillate about said axis and said attached to said member firmly in contact with said surface.

18. Photographic print handling apparatus comprising conveying means including a print holding member to which a print is adapted to be attached, mechanism for driving said conveying means to move said member through a predetermined path of travel, a surface adjacent said path of travel on one side thereof, pivoted means having a portion adjacent said path of travel on the opposite side thereof, trip mechanism automatically operated by said member when it reaches a predetermined point in its path of travel for causing said pivoted means to carry a print attached to said member into contact with said surface, and other mechanism automatically operated by said member when it reaches another point in its path of travel to restore said pivoted means to initial position.

19. Photographic print handling apparatus comprising conveying means including a print holding member adapted to have a print wrapped partially around it, mechanism for driving said conveying means to move said member through a path of travel, said member being mounted for oscillation about an axis transverse to the direction of said path of travel, and means for obstructing continued advancing movement of a print wrapped partially around said holding member, so that said member will os- (print will unwrap and be stripped from sai member.

JOHN S. GREENE.

cause said pivoted means to hold a print 

